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DC Comics to reintroduce established character as gay

Less than a year after Dan DiDio indicated that DC Comics wouldn’t alter the sexual orientations of existing characters in the New 52, the co-publisher revealed Saturday at the Kapow! Comic Convention in London that he’s changed his position.

When asked by a fan during a convention panel why race or age could be changed in the relaunch but not sexual orientation, Bleeding Cool reports DiDio responded that a previously established heterosexual character will be reintroduced as “one of our most prominent gay characters.” Bob Wayne, senior vice president of sales, added that like President Obama, DiDio’s stance “has evolved.”

It’s a significant shift from July, just before the relaunch, when DiDio told the gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate, “One of the things we’re very focused on doing for these types of stories is rather than [change an existing] character, we want to make sure that this is the basis of who that character is right from the start. So if we’re going to introduce a gay character in Teen Titans, we want to make it a new character and make sure that is an iatrical part of who he is, or who she is, right from the start so we can really lean and grow with her or him.” (Note: That’s probably supposed to be “integral,” not “iatrical.”)

Naturally speculation has already begun as to the the identity of the newly gay DC character, with the DC Universe Gays blog floating everyone from Shazam and Kid Eternity to Vibe and Hawkgirl as possible candidates.

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Comments

108 Comments

Reichljuice

At first I was going to make a crack about Batwoman being re-established as a lesbian character, but after reading Nick’s suggestion for Guy Gardner … That would probably be the most interesting turn for any of DC’s characters.
So, I second Guy Gardner.

David R.

Magical Mimi

$10 says this is how they re-introduce any/all of those characters who’re missing from The New 52 that people still care about. Thuse it’ll probably be Wally West (He’s gay! Why’d he be married to a woman and have kids now?), Stephanie Brown (She was never Batgirl, or dated Robin because she’s a lesbian!), Donna Troy (Amazons are lesbians, right?), or Cassandra Cain (Do I really need to say it?).

Yeah. Sorry. The fact that you have much loved characters like these who are still missing post reboot, mixed with the fact that DC says they’re reintroducing a character and making them gay as part of the ‘reboot’ kinda worries me. Not because they’re being reintroduced as gay, but because of all the other things that they could change as well that would fundamentally alter the aspects of the character (i.e. Cassandra Cain talks non-stop and is a villain! Oh wait, they already did that.)

Yeah. Don’t mind me. I’m going back over here and to my Indy comics until both DC and Marvel get their acts together and stop pulling stunts (like having well known characters suddenly revealed as gay, ‘epic’ line wide crossovers that end up going nowhere like Fear Itself, and of course Reboots) to draw fans in and instead put more of a focus on writing good comics with interesting characters that people /want/ to read rather than feeling like they /have/ to read.

-Magical Mimi

Matt

Al

Sure, why not? DC already stomped on decades of continuity with the New 52 so why not play the token and change Shazam or someone like that, alienating even more readers. I’ve nothing against them creating a gay character (though as noted they already did this with Batwoman, though not very well), but are they so creatively bankrupt at DC that they can’t spare the time to create a brand-new character? One with a clean slate, no established backstory, that can be created from scratch?

the answer is obvious it’s the martian manhunter. hello man-hunter. also gay gardner would be good too. i mean guy gardner. just don’t make it batman because the waters will get really dirty. people will question if he is a pedophile because he takes in teenage boys. and don’t choose wonder woman because it would be a cop out to say she’s an amazon,amazons hate men therefore wonder woman is gay. if it’s a villain my guess is lex luthor poor mercy is just his beard. lastly how about harley quinn and poisin ivy coming out of the tool shed together.

Adrian Chase

Magical Mimi

Hey… It could always be Superman! After all, didn’t his editor come out a few days ago and say that Lois and Clark will never get back together as long as he works for DC? And what better way to make that happen than to have Clark suddenly come out of the closet!

Penny Lane

Duff McWhalen

The rest of this post was going to be sarcastic, but eh. I’ll just say I wish this didn’t come off as a stunt to one-up a competitor with controversial news. Why not just have a gay character instead of telling everyone about how you will? Why not take the FIRST step and keep walking?

james

the answer is in the name.green arrow(oliver queen). queen is another name for a gay male. as for superman i doubt it. he is the great white straight hope. outing superman would cause almost irreparable harm to dc comics because superman is supposed to be all that’s good and right with this country. also he is referred to as the boyscout which could lead to lawsuits from the boyscouts of america for implying homosexuality in their ranks.

Squashua

I was totally going to come in here and throw out a joke that it’ll be Vibe because I just saw him on that hilarious breakdancing thing during the cartoons this weekend and how the heck do not one, but THREE people beat me to that joke?

Guy Gardner would be genius, but he’s already been introduced in JLI and I believe he has the hots for the Ice character of that book; granted, I stopped reading that book after issue 4. Not that good.

Marein

Zach

Please let it be Shazam. I can’t wait to read the story of a young boy who is taken by an older fellow to a secluded place where he is tought the magic word that turns him into a gay man wearing a tight, colorful outfit.

JRC

I’m going to cast a vote for Dick Grayson. I think Devin Grayson made a good argument for his being bi (which got her run out of the company according to rumors).
Frankly, I could see it, it ‘reads’ right to me.
I don’t expect it to happen, but there ya go.

Regarding all ll the Vibe talk, they keep saying it’ll be a prominent character and he’s only been a prominent butt of jokes.

Anon

Catman. Gail Simone said that he was bisexual and if he ever showed up again he’d be written as such. Maybe he’s gay in the new continuity.
(Of course, james is going to make some dumb comment along the lines of “his name is catman! of course he’s gay! insert stupid name joke here!”)
Honestly, I wish they’d just either create a new character or at least have the established character actually come to these realizations him/herself. This just feels like a media stunt. (Especially since they’ve said that being gay will be “the basis of who he/she is”-stereotypes ahoy!)

ao

Balls

JVan

But in all seriousness, as long as its a character they haven’t introduced yet this actually sounds good to me. Especially if its a pretty recognizable hero… as has already been mentioned they have Batwoman already, so I really hope its a male character.

The reason I’d be against it being someone that they’ve already introduced in the New 52 is because many of the recognizable heroes and heroines have already been portrayed as being attracted to one sex or another (obviously mostly the opposite) and it would strike me as strange, even improbable, that heroes of such caliber would lack so much self awareness that they didn’t even realize they were gay until so late in their career. I suppose a good story “could” be made to explain it, but when we’re dealing with people who have genius intellects (well, many do), have gone through so much soul searching, and are supremely confident in themselves it strikes me as too much of a stretch for the character (whomever it may be).

That said, if a character hasn’t had their preferences already established… have at it DC. I don’t really care and it could even end up becoming a great icon for the gay community if they do it right.

It could be one of the firestorms I personally think it is dumb to change some ones sexual orientation to please a minority it didn’t work in JLA when James Robinson tried tried it just leaves reader feel weird like we are now being forced to hug a stranger and pretend he is our best friend and we already know he has slept with every cheerleader in school and his room is covered is Cindy Crawford posters now over night he is asking you and t is now trying to score with the gay dudes the ultimate in identity crises .

Dave

Dan

From 1985-2011, I primarily collected DC Comics – at one point getting 35 titles a month.
New 52 seemed like a decent idea and I got the first 3 issues to 20 titles. I found the that the writing and storytelling was atrocious, new origins were mostly lame and for the most part I think the new costumes and logos are awful. A complete misfire.
I now get zero DC titles, and this news only strengthens my belief that the DC Comics Didiocracy is a failure.

RunnerX13

Ian F

Hey all, I was in the panel when this was mentioned. I dont think its some publicity stunt, because as the article said, it was in response to a fans question. Its another way of diversifying dcs line, and im excited by it. The panel was great, and Dan Didio also let slip that a new 52 story will be developed into one of wb’s animated flicks. Heres hoping for Court of the owls and not justice league, cause that was kinda poor and generic.

Naiche

By the wording it sounds like someone who hasn’t appeared in the new 52 yet although Guy Gardner would be fun. Maybe Ted Kord they seriously need to bring him back or perhaps someone from Earth 2. Anyways I could guess til I’m blue in the face. As far as Marvel they made Ultimate Colossus gay. Granted that is a different universe from the main Marvel universe but still the DC timeline changed so what’s the dif? Personally I’m all for it.

Jake

This better be done realistically. I hope its not done in a way that it seems they made the character gay just to appeal to people. If done wrong it can drive people away. Someone’s sexual should be part of the storyline not THE storyline like “Oh we need more gay characters!” *throws dart and random major character*

Ian F

yeah, nick, when i was thinking “Which of the books could it be…?” naturally JL shot to the top of my mind, since it sells so well. But that made me think of the overall story and i realised, i remember fuck all about it. So…. bleh. I expect more from Geoff, but he seems to have trouble with anything that isnt GL.

swamp thing might be fun… i think court of Owls is most likely tho.

Ronald

They should make Superman gay. The Superman franchise is dead anyway, and is in dire need of a groundbreaking shake-up, because sadly, no matter how hard they try, they just cant seem to make him interesting. Since DC is on a roll with pissing off their fan base anyway, shucks, Superman is the candidate I want to see them expose. OR…Kyle Rayner from the GLC, he’s a good candidate. We can also mention Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Martian Manhunter. Dont forget that DC already has gay superheroes in its line-up…Apollo and the Mid-nighter, from Stormwatch, are an openly gay couple, and they tend to kick much butt and take names later.

I must mention, that some must wonder, if this is just a publicity stunt/PR sales bost pitch though…just like some wonder if its a re-election bid by the President.

I’m just saying…

Pawpower

PR Stunt all the way. Very poor for DC to push this before it happens. It seems as if they are saying “LOOOOOK at us, were going to have a GAY Superhero, to appease certain people. Seems as if they want to ride the coat tails of Obama, and not progress their books.

CagedLeo730

Lack of reading comprehension and selective memories seem to be a big part of message boards. It seems that the comic media is making a bigger deal out of all of this more than DC itself. It’s not like DC is announcing a certain “marriage” coming up in comics. They just answered a Q&A question.
DC has already turned 2 formely straight charaters gay: Renee Montoya (Question) and Todd Rice (Obsidian). So they’re not setting a precedent.
The character has yet to be re-introduced into the new52, so a lot of guesses are so off the mark.
It’s like saying: Name a state that is not on the East Coast, and everyone keeps answering NY.

Joking aside, who gives a shit? This will either be a female character for titillation, a male character that will suddenly have every sexually immature nob head panicking because a character they ‘grew up with’ might make them gay and anyway they cook it some one will shout ‘Political correctness gone mad!’ and it WILL be a Z list no mark that everyone will suddenly become an expert on thus proving they ‘can’t possibly be gay’.

Mike

Totally Vibe. He showed up in the “Trinity War” poster, making him “Prominent.”

I didn’t start reading comics until after he was dead, but it looks like they are wanting to redefine him, without relying to heavily on his being a stereotype, or on his breakdancing.

Alan Scott and Hawkgirl are probably out, as being from another earth would not make you “prominent.”

Shazam/Billy Batson is a young boy, who might at some point in the future question his sexual identity, but it is far to young for his sexual identity to be formed already. Actually, I can’t wait for his foster sister Mary to slap him when he tries to make a pass at her to keep up his tough-kid image.

Raskal66

Ryan

What? That’s idiotic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for homosexuals. But can’t DC just make a character gay if their sexuality was ambiguous or if they’re a new character? I mean, making a person gay is changing the basis of who they are! Besides, who in the New 52 is a different race than before?

RFini

I’m all for diversity, but how about DC takes it a step further. How about making some characters hardcore religious. Right now, I can’t even think of any fully sold-out Christian characters, jews or muslims in comics, meanwhile christians alone make up over 50% of people in the US. Why not cater to some of those readers? It’s one thing to say “lets de diverse” but only be diverse with one topic or subject. Or what about introducing some blind, or handicapped heroes? Just a thought.

Alex

RegularSyzedMike

I think a lot of the freaking out about this is because of some people’s discomfort with the notion that the guy in tights they’ve been worshipping since puberty might like dudes like they secretly do.

Equality doesn’t mean we have the right amount of gays, non-whites and women…it means people are looked at as people and not members of different clubs that need to be pandered to.

Ira Henkin

i stopped reading most of DC after Flushpoint.
I had been a fan since the 50s.
When they stopped caring about the older fans, I stopped buying.
According to the new continuity, some of the best series of recent times, like Starman, JSA, Hawkman {some of it} never happened. There never was a greatest generation of heroes, who, like my father’s,helped to save democracy.
Let them keep their new world

Jimbo

Matty Macomber

Well, being gay is a part of my identity that has had a strong impact on my religious, philosophical, political, and gender identities and beliefs. It’s also put me through a bunch of crap experiences dealing with others’ intolerance and loathing (and distinct opportunities that much of the straight world can’t fathom). I hope that DC editorial isn’t so simple minded to think you can change the sexuality of Green Arrow, Guy Gardner, or any established character with an extensive back story and claim “Hey, they are the same character you’ve always loved, only Gayer!” Just as religious and philosophic beliefs shape can shape the motivations of a hero, I think the Gay experience can’t help but impact the type of adult you become. Vibe would be less problematic from that perspective but it’s Vibe… a character already bearing the stigma of a bad Hispanic stereotype from his first iteration and you want to throw even more culturally challenging potholes to navigate? Better to take baby steps with that character.
Still, as Marvel did intentionally with Striker, maybe a swaggering braggart like Guy Gardner *could* be overcompensating. In the old DC it was a brain injury but in the New52, he’s caught the Gay, instead. I do like redheads so…
Scratch everything I said. It should be Jimmy Olsen that has always had a thing for tall, dark, and handsome fellas like Clark Kent and Superman (he really wanted everyone to know that he was Superman’s Pal). His connection to Lucy Lane in old DC was just a way to get closer to Clark.

Jimbo

Ira Henkin

What if Earth 2 had been one where the American century had not ended, had not been guided by the likes of Nixon , but by Alan Scott and Jay Garrick?
That would have been inspiring, as DC used to inspire.
The new 52 does not

Mad

People really don’t know how to read. The article said “reintroduce
established” character, so it isn’t a character already in
the New 52. Maybe they should reintroduce the establish character as a
cynical asshole that complains about every decision a comic company
makes about the characters they own and then kill him off with a very
violent death. ( ):0) )

Pinkamena

Beacon

I’m really loving the idea of a gay Guy Gardner (I have no problem with him being more interested in Booster Gold than Ice as long as his personality is the same otherwise)

However, given the current DC’s tendency to completely miss the point, I expect it to be Oliver Queen.

Gay Wally West would be kind of a standard DC FU to fandom.

You know, they really should have taken the opportunity of the reboot to reintroduce Josiah Power as a bigger player … especially since Maxwell Lord – the old go-to superpowered businessman – has been damaged beyond repair in recent years.

Nathan

I still think it ought to be Tim Drake or Connor (Green Arrow). They both should be gay. And I know that Tim won’t be gay because he has already been introduced, but it would be a great step forward for the character. Also, he really should have his own title.

If Connor would be gay, it wouldn’t really be a big deal. He has only shown up occassionally over the past five years.

Captain Marvel Jr would be interesting.

Emanuel

JMal

It is Caitlin Fairchild. During her fight with Ravager (Rose Wilson) it is stated they had a relationship. With Fairchild’s prominence in the past that makes her the established character. Given Ian Churchill on the panel it was brought up on it all falls together. It would be more “dramatic” if they would use a truly prominent character and IMHO a male character. DC does tend to make their gay characters female, probably in an effort to be less controversial overall.

bluthic

Cyborg!
It would be awesome to have a black gay man in the Justice League! Especially when you have the very jock/ macho Cyborg coming out of the closet and having to come out not only to his father, but to the Justice League and the world.
Then you can have Superman have a problem with it. Being such a goody goody and from rural america, he might have very conservative views about this. It would be a great way for the Man of Steel to learn a lesson about acceptance of his fellow man. It would also show he is human (or close enough), and that our views can change with the world.

corther

i don’t think there’s anything wrong with an established character becoming gay. i’d actually prefer it be someone who is already around the new 52 than just an old character who hasn’t been reintroduced suddenly showing up gay. if the story is done right, their coming to terms with their sexuality and coming out could be a great and moving story. even in this day and age were homosexuality is everywhere from the small screen to the big screen, a lot of men and women still have a hard time coming out to their friends/families and coworkers. lots of adult men who have been married with children come out in their 40s or whatever. hell, look at all the republicans who refuse to give gays the right to marry or anything else, and then get caught with male prostitutes. or Jack from Dawson’s Creek and Willow from Buffy. both originally established as straight, who later came out. both were done very differently, but well.

Chesney

Captain Fed Up

Okay, I don’t know what’s more offensive, NOT having any gay characters in your line, or using homosexuals as a catalyst to sell books. Really? Archie has a gay wedding in it (who cares…its’ Archie), then Marvel has a gay wedding in it (who cares….its Northstar), so now DC has to jump on the train and introduce someone gay to cash in on the “craze”?

How about we write some good stories witha diverse batch of characters from all walks of life, and not publicize it as a way of getting attention? Didn’t Gail Simone do a far better job on Secret Six? How about Peter David on X-Factor?

MIKE SNYDER

LBD

I’m surprise to see that there are not more guesses for Martian Manhunter;) seriously, though, the fact the media is making such a big deal about it is a bit off-putting. As someone mentioned, there are already gay/ lesbian/bi-sexual characters in comics (Batwoman is awesome! big fan of Rictor and Shatterstar,too), so I can’t blame people for thinking that it’s just a response to Northstar’s wedding. Hopefully, we can get to the point where we are with other minority characters and just accept sexuality as just another character trait, not the defining character trait.

Chris Lorenzo

The New 52 has caused me to drop a lot of DC books, I hate all of the Crises and Reboots, but I’m curious to see what they are doing with this. I’m not sure they are going about it the right way. Taking a character that was previously definitely straight and now re-writing them to be an absolutely gay character may anger long-time fans. DC has never quite understood the idea of Continuity and finding ways to make this kind of characterization a logical progression of the characters’ lives. As a gay man myself, of course I hope for the best, because I don’t want to see a backlash against gay characters in general due to DC’s quick grab for attention. Given the coincidence with Marvel’s Gay Wedding (which makes a LOT more sense in continuity there!!) it seems like this is an attempt to overshadow them.
If you’re interested in supporting Gay Characters in Comics, a new Indy series just started, titled “Subject to Change”, which features two Gay Couples among it’s leading characters. It’s at least worth a Look and a “Like”: http://www.facebook.com/divineauthoritycomics

Do you know how angry Liefeld is already angry about Rictor and Shatterstar?? I will be laughing my ass off if DC makes another of his creations Gay. It made sense with Shatterstar, it didn’t contradict the progression of his character over time, and Jeph Loeb was already planting seeds way back when. But with DC it’s the New 52 and New History, so they could really do a number on one of his characters, lol.

Timmyd

Do we really want Superman to be gay? Would that not make him a super liar? He had the hots for Lois Lane. So that would mean he’s a super gay super liar. Why don’t you just make Robin gay. He already has a woman’s name and he can say stuff like ” Holy transvestite Batman”.